Tricked for a Treat: Round 2!
by Unleashed Reasoning
Summary: Yes, Shego wants to even the score! How could she not? However, how successful will her endeavor be?
1. Cat and Mouse

**A/N:** This is a couple days behind, but I really wanted to get it out. I hadn't intended on taking Tricked for a Treat any further then I had, but this idea demanded to be written (i even put off the working on other stories for this one) Anyway, hope you enjoy it, this quicky Halloween special.

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Shego stares out into the glowing orange sunset with a scowl. It's that time of year again… A whole year had passed in the seeming blink of an eye! And so much has changed… and not changed. She had spent the entire year trying to corner Kimmie and get her to confess, or at least bloody well explain her actions last Halloween. Yet, every time she thought she was getting close, Kim danced away and out of reach.

It's infuriating! Even attempting to break into Kimmie's home for a little one on one fist fight lead to nothing more then a few cuts and bruises and an empty room waiting for her once she passed all the cursed security. She wants to go barreling into Kim's school, light up, and demand retribution. But, that would mean she was admitting to the world that she lost to Kim Possible. Which is obviously a no go.

Shego growls, slamming a fist into the brick wall and causing it to cave in at the point of impact.

An entire year! No one else really knows exactly what happened, even Shego is a little clueless. But, the basics of it is that, every major criminal was robbed on Halloween by an unknown group. There hasn't been a repeat of such actions from the mysterious group, and no one knows who they are or what they did with what they stole. There'd been no trickle of stolen goods in the black market, and any form of boasting, plots, or greed hadn't been played at all. There is no telling if the stolen goods are even being used. GJ certainly hadn't reported the mass findings of all the missing objects of destruction, not even one.

Which Shego finds even more puzzling. She is the sole person who knows exactly which person had caused all this chaos. And, that said person, being such a goody good, would/should have given at least one juicy tidbit of info or stolen weapons to GJ… and hadn't. The game of cat and mouse between villain and GJ had remained unchanged. There were no sudden mass findings and exposing of villain hideouts or secrets. Nothing had happened, as if Kim had really wanted to remain anonymous for her deeds, shocking and amazing as they are.

Hey, Shego has to admit that crashing into super villains' hideouts and robbing them blind is not an easy feat, let alone something anyone else has the privilege of declaring.

The issue though, is finding the stolen goods, securing them, and…

'Eff it. Shego's only motives are to figure out the why of the whole shi-bang. She doesn't care that it had been stolen, only weirded out by how efficiently it'd been done. That, and she can't fathom what other motives Kim could have if she wasn't exposing villains and handing over their projects to GJ.

Curiosity is a thing Shego is pretty much famous for in her family. It's how she got hit by the comet, how she became a hero, then later a villain. It's a well learned skill though, to outwardly hide her curiosity after an incident when she was a hero. However, she'd never outgrown the unquenchable need to know.

It's being proven right now. A year! As many times as she's already ranted about it, she'd been digging for answers an entire year! And no results. She'd only discovered Kim and Co. weren't working for or in GJ after their brief six months there. Unfortunately, she hadn't figured out the why of that either.

That's another odd thing. Kimmie and Co. aren't with GJ anymore. They hadn't been for seven months. Seven months! In that seven months, Kim had slowly appeared and disappeared at the same time. Meaning, the official website isn't being used anymore. It had been taken down when they'd joined GJ, because GJ got all the mission info and sent them out. But after they left, it hadn't been reactivated. There was no way to personally request help by any means of communication. There is no official Team Possible set up anywhere, no official recognition. Yet Kim's mission list hadn't slackened. She actually seems to pop up in more places all over the world, reporting to incidents GJ doesn't get to until well after Kim has taken care of everything and left all the clean up to the agents. But to actually find, or pinpoint Kim for any length of time is… damned near impossible. It's like the girl doesn't sleep!

So, right now, the big "why" is grating on her nerves. She'd hunted and pecked into all of her sources, but because Kimmie and her cohorts hadn't bloody used, boasted, sold, or handed over any of the stolen devices, there is no tracking where or what Kim is doing outside of her normal "save the day" routine. Which, as was stated, is even more unpredictable then normal.

That's not to say Shego hadn't tried. She'd stirred up trouble on more then one occasion, trying to draw Kimmie out. She'd even taken a few extra jobs with the Senior, and helmet head. Still, even if Kim did show, it was all business. Hero's bust in, fight a little, save the day, and villains either get caught or run away. And Kim had made sure that she kept Shego on her toes while fighting, so Shego didn't have a real chance to dole out the questions.

Snarling, Shego shook her head, eyes finally focusing back onto her surroundings. She's poised on the edge of building shadowed by a larger building next to it. The sun is now far from sight, and the few stars visible from within the city glimmer softly in the darkness. An eerie orange crescent moon hangs low in the sky with a couple clouds dancing in front of it. A large sack of cash and jewels sit next to her on the ground, a few having spilled when she'd tossed it down on the ground in frustration.

"Go trick-or-treating, get the trick, but not the treat," mutters Shego.

Against her will, her mind flashes back to last Halloween. Kim's warm lips pressed against hers… Friggin' A! She'd been so floored by that. Every bloody time she thinks of that night… she's incapable of forgetting that scene. It plays over and over in her head, and it drives her all the more crazy.

Since when had Kim Possible had the hot's for women? Any woman at all! And she'd kissed SHEGO?! Where the hell was the sense in that?! Are they not mortal enemies?! Have they not kicked each other's cans on a number of occasions?! Yes, there is teasing and taunting… but a kiss?! A bloody KISS?! Where in the hell did that come from?!

Shego scrubs her face roughly with a hiss. Trying to forget that night is impossible. No matter how she looks at it, there is no way she isn't getting answers.

"What's the treat?" asks a monotone voice from behind her.

Shego whirls around instantly, hands up and alight before she even registers that she's moved. Scanning the shadows carefully, Shego begins cursing her plan of hiding on such a darkened rooftop. She'd been completely unprepared for someone to come up behind her, especially since the one person who she was expecting, hadn't shown. Being caught daydreaming is not proper etiquette for a thief.

"Show yourself!" she demands, ears straining for the slightest sound to betray the intruder.

A monotone chuckle fills the air, and Shego instantly recognizes the lifeless sound of a voice changer device. An odd, yet brief, flutter of excitement fills her gut as she waits impatiently for the person to appear.

"I asked a question," replies the voice. Shego tries to pinpoint the location, but the brick buildings are bouncing the sound around.

"I said show yourself!" snarls Shego.

"What's the treat? I think it's fair enough to ask. Is it worth the trick?"

"If you're the not the same bastard from last year, get the hell out of here! I've got scores to settle."

"Was that an invitation, or a threat?" asks the voice.

For a brief moment, Shego finds herself undecided on that. Luckily, the person decides to appear and save her from answering.

A swirl of a dark cloak falling from the shadows above, and suddenly, she's face to face with a very familiar grotesque metal mask grinning wickedly at her. Her heart skips a beat and her breathing quickens slightly. She hadn't actually thought Kim would show. Kim had avoided her for a year for heavens sake! Why would she suddenly show now? Shego had been sitting out here waiting for two and a half hours, dang it!

Still, just because the mask and the voice changer thing were all in place, it didn't necessarily mean it _is_ Kimmie. Best to approach things cautiously.

"You've been quite the busy girl… Didn't know you were going to add thieving to your list of skills," Shego says coyly.

The figure shakes as they laugh. "There are many things on my 'list' that are undiscovered. I suppose you can call what we did thieving… in a sense." The figure rocks back on their heels, seemingly completely at easy. "However, you mock me… Girl?"

Shego hesitates again. Is it not Kimmie?

Silent a little too long and short of her usual snappy comebacks, the figure speaks up again.

"Are you confused?" Even though there is a voice modifier, Shego can tell the person behind the mask is smirking. "I suppose I am being vague. It's a skill I've recently developed. Would you like a hint?"

Very… 'displeased' at being taunted with, Shego snarls and her hands burn brighter. She wouldn't degrade herself by asking for a damned hint! The bastard!

"What the hell do you want?!"

"My, my, not very patient today, are you?"

"If you haven't figured it out yet, patience was never my favorite virtue."

"Well, seeing as you're a villainess, I never took you for one with many virtues."

"Did you come here to fight or talk?!" Shego makes a show of flaring her hands a bit.

"If I wanted to attack you, I would have done it while your back was turned. The surprise and all, yes?" The figure strolls forward a couple steps, making Shego tense up. There is a small snort of amusement from the masked figure, and Shego's scowl deepens. "However, since it seems you probably have questions, and I figure I should attempt at answering at least the bare minimum…"

Shego almost blurts out another command to see who is under the mask. Just barely does she keep it in check, just in case the oaf of a person before her decides to be cruel and allow her only one bloody question.

Now, to figure out what the hell she should ask.

Oh, right… the one that had been driving her insane the past year!

"Why?"

The metal mask glints in the pale light of the city as the person turns their head as if looking off into a distance that isn't quite there. "Why? You chose a most vague way of asking a question. Why… most certainly the most all encompassing and unassuming question you could ask me. You must have been thinking of last Hallow's Eve quite a lot, yes?"

An angry spark flashes through Shego's eyes at the implications, and it causes the person to chuckle.

"You're quite short of your usual retorts, aren't you? Have you been losing practice, or are you just that distracted?"

Shego lunges forward with a roar, and the cloaked figure merely dances to the side, allowing Shego to fly right past.

"Answer my damn question!"

"There are many why's that can be answered, and many that you don't know you ask for. You should be more specific."

"Just stop being vague and answer the stupid question!"

"You're the one being vague. You haven't even told me the question."

"I gave you the friggin' question! Why? Why?! Why, WHY?"

"…" The stranger regards her silently a long moment, and Shego shifts impatiently from foot to foot. "It's all quite simple. To get what one wants, one must simply take it, correct? Being a thief, I am quite sure you understand this reasoning. I wanted all the things I took, and I've got them stored until I need them. I am still working to gather the rest of what I want."

"What do you want it for? And what else are you gathering?"

"What do all villains want?" the figure asks calmly.

"To rule the world?" she replies sarcastically.

"Exactly." The figure rocks back on their heels again, hands clasped behind their back.

Shego actually balks a second, having clearly thought some other answer would be forthcoming. … More so if it really is who she suspects it is.

The person chuckles again.

"Answer my other question!" Shego demands, trying to recover from her shock.

"Why, I thought it would be most obvious. But first, answer me a question. Why are you stalking Kim Possible?"

"Excuse me?" Now really confused, she can't figure out who the hell she's talking to. Unless Kim is having fun referring to herself in third person...

"I've been watching you. You've been following her around everywhere. Kim Possible has nothing to do with this. So, why are you stalking her?"

"I saw her! You! I saw…!"

"Ah, but what you see and what you believe are two entirely different things." The figure moves, closing the distance between the two of them… then breezing by Shego and stirring her hair. As they pass, they whisper lowly… "Besides… I'm stalking what else I want."

Shego's eyes widen, and she spins to face the stranger and ends up coming face to face with them.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" taunts the figure. A hand moves, and Shego automatically flinches. Instead of reaching for her, the hand lifts up the mask to reveal a very familiar set of green eyes and pouty lips. "I'm stalking _you_."

Those pouty lips land on her own, and she is once more blown away by shock. When she recovers her wits, the person is already pulling away.

"You shouldn't chase Kim Possible. She's only a face for the crowd. You should steer more after your Princess. After all, she doesn't play by the rules. She makes them." With another cocky wink, the gloved hand replaces the mask to hide the green eyes once more.


	2. Where the Sky Blooms

"_Meet me where the sky blooms_."

That's all that Kim had said. Yes. Kimberly Ann Possible. KAP, as Shego has taken to calling the irritating redhead. KP is too high school, but KAP is a little better, and for some reason, she easily places the nickname on Kim's new "identity", Brenner. It's the green skinned woman's way of acknowledging that the masked figure _is_ Kim Possible, and half hazard throwing it in her face. Though it didn't get the reaction she hoped.

Shego scowls and throws a ball of plasma randomly at a wall. Dr. Drakken squeals and ducks behind his newest "toy", and the henchmen clear the room entirely.

Nobody messes with Shego when she's cranky. Well, except a truly thickheaded Dr. D.

Kim had chuckled at the nickname. She almost _preened_ under the stupid thing! And though it frustrated Shego further, a part of her was charmed by the small show of appreciation.

Besides, anyone who hears the nickname thinks she is saying "Cap'", short for Captain. Which is an odd way to take it, seeing as every time they meet Shego is ready to tear Brenner's head off.

Kimmie had been a brat to begin with. Hiding behind a mask, even more of her subdued cockiness comes out; with frighteningly almost admirable cool charm, to boot. She's a lot more laid back behind the mask. Her worries, her self conscious wariness fades away to a back burner, and she's even more bold and sure then she is as herself. She glides through every motion, every conversation, like it is a dance. It's like she's already rehearsed it and knows all the steps. She doesn't loose her temper if she gets tripped up, and in the end, makes the person who did the tripping look like a fool.

"GAH!" Shego hurls another plasma blast.

It's positively infuriating! Kim Possible is a completely different person! Even as her hero self, she's become a bigger challenge. Such a challenge, that hardly anyone can actually _challenge_ the darned brat!

"Shego!" whines Drakken. "Will you stop destroying my lair?! You'll ruin my experiment!"

Cutting her eyes sharply to the side, Shego glares icily at the blue man. He gulps and ducks under the look. All she has to do is lift a glowing hand before he's scampering out of the room wailing.

As the door cuts off his wild screaming, Shego rolls her eyes and slouches lower into her chair.

"What the hell does that even mean?" mutters Shego. "'Meet me where the sky blooms'… She's friggin' nuts."

She'd been fighting Kimmie as her heroy self when Drakken and her had gone to steal some components for his latest death laser. Kimmie had busted in, as usual. A fight ensued, and, while the two ladies were rolling around in a desperate struggle on the ground, the redhead had leaned close and whispered that sentence into her ear.

She'd been momentarily stunned as the redhead backed off enough that she could smirk down at the befuddled thief. Shego, embarrassingly, had blushed under the smirk. And, in retaliation, flung Kim across the room. By that time, the buffoon and his rat had nixed Drakken's plans for stealing the components and had the blue man fleeing quickly to the hovercraft while screeching for Shego. And so, with Drakken's cheesy parting "You think you're all that!" line, the two villains hightailed it out of the joint and back to the safety of their lair.

That was a week ago. A week! She still has no idea what the stupid redhead was talking about! There isn't even a _time_ Kimmie had told her to meet her there! Or a day! How is she supposed to meet up with anyone if she isn't told a time and day?! And the place makes no sense at all!

Shego growls and throws herself out of the chair to pace irritably around the room.

"She told me not to chase 'Kim Possible'… What the hell does even _that_ mean?! She's lost her bloody mind! She _IS_ Kim Possible! How the hell do I not chase someone she is? I mean, unless…" Shego's eyes widen, then narrow. "She wasn't serious… was she?" mutters Shego.

She stops her pacing to stare up into space, fists on her hips. "Is she really going to take over the world? Is that even possible?" Shego snorts as that stupid saying, 'anything is possible for a Possible', runs through her head. "Ridiculous. Even for her, that's…" Shego sighs and flops back down into the chair. "It's possible. Especially with all the new skills she's unveiling. She could do it. She could rule the world. … But why would she want to? It doesn't make sense."

Shego runs a hand through her hair, frown upon her black painted lips. "If she were to rule the world, she really would be a princess… Guess that's what she meant." Shego looks down at her gloved hands. "But, if she's going to be a princess, why is she masquerading as that devil of a man behind that gruesome mask? I mean, I know she wants her identity hidden, but still… she'd have to unveil herself if she wishes to be Princess." Shego huffs and rises quickly to her feet. "Damned woman. She doesn't make any sense at all."

Without word, she exits the room and heads for the hangar bay. She boards a hovercraft and leaves silently into the afternoon sun.

She wanders aimlessly for a while, thoughts spinning in circles. After receiving some shouts of alarm from a local town, she decides she better pick a place and proceed on foot.

Hiding the hovercraft behind a copse of bushes, she heads into town with a brisk pace.

No one challenges her as she calmly walks along the streets. They either don't really notice her, or they're too scared to cry out. After blindly walking for hours, she finds herself standing at the gate of a small cemetery. Shrugging, she heads into the maze of tombstones.

She likes cemeteries. They are a reminder that she's still above ground, still roaring to go, and not ready to waste a moment of what limited life she has left. Besides that, they're quiet and usually empty.

Taking note of some of the more extraordinary headstones, she finally picks a simple one to sit down and lean against as she enjoys the glowing rays of the sun. Her tense muscles relax, and she allows her head to rest against the tombstone as her thoughts lull into a blind and quiet hum.

"A strange place to find you," comments a voice behind her.

Shego is immediately tense but forces her body to remain in its, now fake, relaxed pose. Instead, she allows her eyes to drift up and to her right. A shadow is cast upon the ground from behind her. Whoever it is, seems cloaked, so there are no tell-tale gender features.

"Is it?" retorts Shego, false calm keeping her voice low and smooth. "Cemeteries are quiet places. They let you think without the bother of someone interrupting you."

The shadow shifts as the person stops to take in the view around them.

"I suppose you're right. After all, usually people only come here to mourn. They would think it rude to infringe upon a person and their suffering."

Shego nods absently, gaze fixed on the sky. "Why did you seek me out? I thought you said to meet you where the sky blooms."

"_I_ did not ask you any such thing. Did your Princess?"

Shego shifts enough she can throw a glare back at the intruder of her sanctuary. "Can we not play that game right now? Everything is batty enough as it is."

"It is a game that must be played until all the proper pieces are in place. To do otherwise would spell out failure."

Shego huffs and turns back to gazing at the sky. "Very well, yes. My Princess did ask me to meet her there."

"Are you going?"

"If I knew where the damned place was! And what day and freakin' time!" Shego hisses, fist glowing at her side.

"Calm yourself, Hot Stuff. Your answer lies within the request."

"What? What on earth are you talking about? There was no day and time! She just said to meet her where the sky blooms!"

"And _I_ am saying, therein lies your answer. There is only one day the sky can truly bloom. There is only one country it is celebrated."

"And there are fifty freakin' states!" shoots back Shego.

Brenner shrugs, chuckling. "I would assume that she wouldn't ask you to cross the country to try and find her. I would bet she'd be ample happy to meet you close to home. After all, on that day, her family shall wish to spend time with her as well; she won't be able to traipse around the world to have a meeting with you."

"And if on that day, calamity strikes?" asks Shego, scowling at a tree and resting her elbow on her knee.

"Hmm… point taken. I'm sure I can assist. After all, we wouldn't want you missing your Princess."

"And how could _you_ help?" The sarcasm was bleeding all over the place as she rolls her eyes.

"Oh, I'm not without my resources. I'm sure I can arrange something that will allow you plenty of time to watch the sky bloom."

Shego grunts, neither agreeing nor arguing.

A silence drifts between the two, allowing them to hear the insects making lively music in the tall dancing yellow grass ringing the cemetery. A warm breeze tousles Shego's dark locks and plays with the hem of Brenner's cape.

"You're calm today. After our last few meetings, I'd swear you'd be attempting to tear my head from my shoulders."

"I thought about it," admits Shego calmly, almost dismissively.

"And you haven't because?" persists KAP, monotone voice still carrying the questioning tone perfectly.

"I'm a gal that roles with the punches. Arguably, I don't like being told what to do or having anyone attempt to ruin my plans. However, I've decided I won't get any answers if I'm trying to incinerate you every time we meet. I have time enough to deal with that in… other areas. Beside the one time, you have yet to outwardly challenge me to a fight. The second, you refused and avoided all my attempts to provoke one."

Shego falls silent a moment, and Brenner her allows her the moment, knowing she has more to say.

"I'm still not sure why you keep approaching me like this. It does us both harm, in a way. Especially once all is said and done. Other then mocking me with your traps and banter, I see no other reason why you keep coming."

"I already answered that."

Shego's cheeks darken a bit, but she doesn't allow herself to be distracted by it. "You claimed to be stalking me. Short of turning me in, I still don't get why. Parting gifts or not, it still doesn't make any sense."

"Can I not stalk a beautiful woman? Granted, stalking makes it seem… brutish, but, I find no other way to describe it. You have yet to accept or decline any of the advances. Plus, you obviously don't see them as anything other then some strange form of slipping past your guard and attacking you. Were that my wish, I would have done it ages ago. No, I am merely stalking you, like any would such do in claiming their mate. Even if it takes years, I won't stop hunting you. Why? Because you're just too damned irresistible. I've tried many ways to get your attention, but you're quite ignorant to everything that doesn't involve fighting and stealing. Though, there is a form of struggle when mating…"

The suggestive hint sends Shego reeling. Not that the rest of it hadn't! But the implications were flabbergasting. Flustered, Shego lunges to her feet and rounds on 'Brenner'.

"Hey-!"

Brenner chuckles and cuts off any further protest. "Think of it this way, you've been preyed upon long before I appeared. Haven't you ever wondered why a certain redhead was always so dead set on capturing you?"

Jaw flapping a moment, Shego stares at KAP in disbelief. "Ridiculous! _That_ certain redhead was always trying to throw my ass in jail! There were no 'hidden' motives!"

Brenner steps closer, causing Shego to back up a step and get pinned between him and the headstone behind her.

"Are you sure?" The masked figure lifts a hand and gently runs it along Shego's jaw. "As I said, you're quite oblivious to everything that doesn't include your 'job'. You're a beautiful woman, Hot Stuff. You boast and flaunt that all the time. Is it really no wonder that you'd have admirers?"

Shego lifts her chin defiantly, but there's a hesitance in her eyes. "Ha! Admirers are one thing! Stalkers are another!"

Brenner laughs, monotone voice echoing itself oddly in the open air. "Don't tell me you've never stalked Kim Possible. You've been to her house on several occasions, outside of work, mind you. You've watched her; you've saved her life."

"It was not the kind of stalking you're talking about! I was keeping tabs on my rival! She undoubtedly kept tabs for the same reason!"

"There you go again," the cloaked figure says lowly. "You're thinking like a thief, like foes. I can assure you, she kept tabs not for predicting all of your moves, but to watch you out of curiosity. If she was trying to predict and expose you, she would have informed her computer genius and goofball of a partner. She never did. You were never captured. Every time it looked like GJ would succeed, she made sure she got to you first to let you get away. After all these years, don't you think GJ has been working on a way to confine you? For good?"

Swallowing thickly, Shego has to avert her eyes from the gleaming metal mask. The 'man' before her sighs, grabbing her chin to get her to look at him.

"There was a point she had to tell her team. The boy is a genius after all, and her partner is her best friend. Do you know why you still haven't been captured? Even now? There are obviously tools to do it, if you remember correctly." As he watches her, she scowls in acknowledgement of the net that had imprisoned her their 'first' meeting. "Her team has been stealing all of the blueprints."

Shego's eyes widen in shock and disbelief. "Steal? _Her_? I don't believe you!"

Placing both hands gently on either side of her face, KAP leans close. "Haven't you been paying attention? You're little rival has been doing more then you can even dream. I would think that a certain Hallows Eve would be proof enough. You may have a stalker or two, but you also have a guardian angel." Brenner steps away, hands falling from her face. "Even still, the fight is far from over. You are still being targeted, and she has twice as much on her plate as she did before. You should really think things over, Shego. You're so intent upon myself and her, you haven't even stopped to consider all the things going on behind the scenes. As a thief, you should really open your eyes. There's a lot to be had."

Calmly, cloak billowing in the growing wind, the masked figure walks away towards the shadows of a copse of trees.

Shego stares after 'him' a moment, speechless. He's just about to reach the trees when she bursts forward and begins closing the distance between them. Leaping over a couple of headstones, she finally manages to catch him as he enters the shadows of the first tree.

"Hey! Wait! That's it?!" she demands.

KAP takes a few more steps to nearly blend in with the shadows before he turns.

"Were you looking for more?" 'he' asks.

"You keep barging in and leaving me with half answers! Do you expect me to just keep letting you walk away?!"

There's a short silence before the cloaked figure speaks again. "Is that all? And here I thought you meant-"

Quick as lightening, Shego steps forward and throws the mask up over KAP's head. A pair of green eyes blink at her, a curl of red hair dangling across one eye. Shego thrusts her lips onto the soft ones in front of her, pushing herself close and distantly noting that Princess had gotten taller.

A shock of electricity runs through her, and for a moment, she forgets she has to pull away. When she finally manages to back off, a lazy smirk crosses her face. "Turnabout is fair game, Princess."

Startled, and a might speechless, the redhead stares at her long time 'arch foe'.

Reaching up, Shego slides the mask back into place, gazing into the green eyes that watch her until they disappear.

"Where the sky blooms." With another smirk, Shego flips away and disappears into the trees to her right.

* * *

**A/N: **Hahaha, sneaky sneaky, yes?


	3. The Truth

Shego stares in silence. Kim had been standing in the same spot for over an hour now. Fireworks are already bursting in the air, choking it with light and smoke. Shego hadn't really noticed them. She'd only briefly realized they'd started before she'd gone back to thinking about the figure standing before her.

She had made a point to get to the show early. She'd stealthily followed the redhead when she left her family in claims of having a friend to meet up with. After crossing only a few blocks until they'd reached downtown, Kim had climbed up to a random roof and remained there.

"Why do you haunt me so?" whispers Shego, her voice carried along the wind.

A small pause in the fireworks display allows Kim to hear the soft remark. She looks around cautiously, eyes scanning the shadows.

A firework flares brilliantly, lighting up a tall lithe figure dressed in black slacks and a deep green blouse. The rooftop goes dark again, and Kim loses sight of the person. As a new colorful explosion goes off, it reveals the woman to be gone.

Kim blinks. She remains still, even though her breathing has quickened and her heart is pounding in her chest.

"Are you real?" murmurs a voice, hot breath tickling Kim's ear.

It sends in involuntary shudder through Kim and it takes all her willpower not to turn around.

"I'm not a ghost," answers Kim, her voice soft and barely heard over the sound of the fireworks.

"You act like one, disappearing and reappearing on whim…"

Fingers gently run through Kim's hair, and she dares not even breathe lest they be removed. A soft inhale nearly has her losing her composure.

Shego grins, enjoying the tense yet flushed look on the redhead's face. Hell _yeah_ turn-about is fair game! Maybe she should have done this sooner…

"Were I a ghost, you could not touch me," remarks Kim, voice husky.

It sends a shiver down Shego's spine.

Definitely sooner.

Taking the comment as the invitation it is, Shego reaches out and trails her fingers across Kim's toned shoulders. She marvels as the muscles twitch under her fingertips.

"Hmm… You're real after all," hums Shego, playing along. "Are you my Princess? Or have I made a mistake?"

At first, her only answer is a gurgling gasp. It makes her chuckle lowly. Prey is speechless and predator is loving it!

Swallowing, Kim dares to lean back and press herself into the green skinned woman behind her. "The one and only," she breathes softly. "Are you going to save me?"

Shego slowly slides her arms around Kim, pulling her closer. She nearly purrs as Kim's warmth bleeds through her thin silk shirt. "I know that most princesses need saving, but this Princess has the tendency take care of herself."

Kim snuggles into the heat behind her, face quite content as she makes herself comfortable. "But this Princess is so busy saving everybody else, she often forgets about herself. Besides, she has taken on a task far greater then she's ever dreamed of. It holds many perils."

"What would you have this one do?" Shego nuzzles the red hair before her. Though she'd planned not to play into the little word games, she can't help but fall into them. All her previous anger had melted away while she'd silently watched Kim standing alone waiting for her. "A thief is condemned, imprisoned, not pardoned and then asked to fight."

"Why not?" asks Kim, eyes on the fireworks. "All souls deserve redemption. The only price is that the redemption is true and life lasting. Were intentions false, then there would be no deserving soul because the soul doesn't want it's own enlightenment. That soul would doom itself, even though opportunity offers it another option."

"A deserving soul…" echoes Shego. Her eyes land on the fireworks above, their light almost blinding in the darkness.

Was she a deserving soul? Did she want redemption? Did she want to change her life? Again?

What would come of it? What would she gain? What would she lose?

… Would she be happy?

"There is as much sacrifice as gain, Princess… This Thief is uncertain if redemption is the answer she seeks."

Kim trembles in her arms, voice suddenly shaken as she answers. "I-I suppose… that the gain is indeed weighed differently by different people… And… I s-suppose that a promise is laughable to a thief… But e-even still… this one… would have promised all she had, will have, for the entirety of her life… if the thief promised, in return, not to leave…"

Frozen in shock, Shego's mind whirls.

Such a promise! Such a heartfelt admission! And the weight of gain… for all that Princess has to offer…

Shego's heart clenches. "This… it's no longer a game…"

"It stopped being a game a long time ago," answers Kim. Her eyes are cast downward, face hidden in shadows. "The banter, the teasing, the nicknames, the taunts… all of that was a game. But this is serious. In a short time, things are going to change… They'll change drastically. It is important to know who and what is on your side. It's important not to treat it like a game because it could cost more then imprisonment… It would cost lives…"

"Why are you doing this?" Shego nearly begs. She's feeling so many conflicting feelings and thoughts, it's overwhelming. Her arms tighten a little. "Why are you doing it now?"

"Time is up," remarks Kim. "There's no other way. I'm forcing everyone to see reality. I'm… forcing you to realize the truth. If you want to walk away, you can. I won't bar you of your choices. I merely ask that you see me, see who I am, who I _really_ am… and decide. You can have the world as it is, open to you and all that you desire… Or you can share it, be a part of the world I create and be free to do with it as you will…"

"With limits," mumbles Shego.

"Limits you already impose upon yourself for deciding to be one with my world. I would ask nothing of you that you didn't already offer."

"It's a crazy thing you propose," says Shego. "It's a lot you're asking me to choose between."

"Do you think _I_ haven't had choices just as difficult? Do you think I don't have just as much to lose as you do? Do you really believe I don't understand the price for everything I'm doing?"

Shego sighs at Kim's harsh tone, amazed she'd actually riled the redhead up without even trying. "How do you chose?" she asks, refusing to remove her arms from around the redhead. "How did you do it?"

Though obviously still tense and angered, Kim doesn't pull away.

"Though the losses… my losses, would be devastating, there was more to gain by doing it… so much more… I do not gamble with lives. I do not pretend to play God and decide who is more important and who is not, even if it seems I do that. I do not decide who is past saving and who is not. I do not even decide what is religiously right and wrong compared to what is morally right and wrong. I merely hold in concrete judgment that _all_ life is precious and worth saving."

Kim's voice softens. "It doesn't mean that I don't hold certain people more closely to my heart then others. It doesn't mean I don't cherish some more then others. When it came to that… When it came to deciding how much I wanted for my precious people… it wasn't so hard to decide anymore. And the biggest gain… for me, for myself… was that one person, just _one_ certain person… could become more important in my life, could… _share_ my life, could be a part of everything… on an equal level. To me, that sealed the deal, because for a purely selfish purpose, I wanted to feel complete and whole with the one person in the whole world who could truly perfect my world, no matter what may transpire in it."

Mute from the confession, Shego watches as the grand finale lights up the entire sky. After the last rebounding boom dies away, both women are left in the darkness and weighty silence.

Kim starts to pull away.

Shego firmly but gently holds her in place.

"That isn't a decision I can make overnight, Princess…" Shego rests her cheek on Kim's shoulder, noticing for the first time that the redhead is actually slightly taller then her now. She's amazed she's as calm as she is. Since when had she not answered everything with sarcasm and firepower? How things had changed… since Kimmie's high school days…

"How long would you need?" breathes Kim, hardly daring to allow herself to hope. "Things are progressing rapidly. I don't know how long I can hold things off."

"Halloween?" asks Shego, a tinge of hesitance in her question. Why is she even considering it? Had she lost her mind? "The perfect time… for a second beginning."

A smile spreads across Kim's face, and to Shego, it lights up the darkness that had overwhelmed them seconds ago.

"Halloween…" Kim inhales slowly… then slowly exhales. "It's starting to become my favorite holiday." She starts to move away, and Shego regretfully loosens her hold.

Only to have Kim turn around and slip right back into her arms.

Kim places a soft kiss at the corner of Shego's mouth. "I will await the Thief's decision… turning away all other's who may dare enter my Tower."

Despite herself, Shego grins broadly. "The Thief's answer will be one of the most honest one's ever spoken."

Kim beams happily at her before slipping out of her grasp. "Then, until Halloween." She blows a cheeky kiss and disappears over the edge of the roof.

Shego doesn't move. She's still grinning crookedly where Kim had left her.

She shakes her head ruefully.

"Here I was, all pissed off and ready for blood… and she's completely turned the tables on me again…" She sighs. "I don't even care about the answers anymore." She runs her fingers through her hair. "How the heck does she _do_ that to me?!" Shego glances at the sky, face oddly thoughtful. "For all it's worth… Is it really worth it? Is it…?"

Shego shakes her head. "So much to think about. So little time to actually think. For a Princess to become a Knight, and then a Queen… and a Hero to become a Thief… and then?" Shego snorts. "It's all so ridiculous!"

She sighs again. "And yet so damned appealing…"

The black haired woman growls. "Nine months and I'm already as tame as a whipped dog!" She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. "Nine months of constantly thinking about three, only THREE, damned encounters, and I'm completely collared and leashed! I was so eager to see her, I even stopped cursing her every five minutes that she crossed my mind!" She scrubs her face irritably. "And I don't want to either…" She pulls her hands away and stares at them. "I… want to know… if it's possible. I want… _more_… And then she dumps _this _on me! I… damn… how much I want to deny that a part of me really… really wants to say yes…"

Shego snarls and smashes a burning fist into the roof. "Damnit!" The flame around her hand dies out, and she's left panting over the hole she'd created. "I'm losing my touch…" she says lowly. "I can't even stay angry at her anymore. Is it too late? Have I already fallen too far? I didn't have one waspish remark or some snippety comeback… Do I… Do I really…? Is it even possible? Can my biggest foe… really become…?"

"SHEGO!"

The black haired woman jumps at the loud wail. She whips around to find Drakken piloting a hovercraft right next to the roof.

"What the hell Dr.D?! Can't a woman _think_ without you interrupting?!"

"I have the greatest idea for a new invention! I've got this death laser that-!"

"Shut-up!" roars Shego. "I'm not in the mood! Go take over the world by yourself! I've got some thinking to do!" She walks away from him.

"But Sheeeeego! I've-!"

"I said enough!" She glares at him, fists alight. In the darkness, her face is lit eerily under the glow of her plasma. "You've got the count of three to get your big blue butt out of here! Then I start cooking!"

"Cooking?" Drakken asks foolishly. "Why would you start cooking? You're out in the middle of-"

"GRAH!" Shego lunges forward and swipes a burning fist down onto the nose of the hovercraft. It crashes into the roof, sending Drakken into a heap near the wreckage.

He groans, rubbing his head as he starts to sit up.

Shego grabs his collar, holding him up inches away from her snarling visage. "I _said_ beat it! If you come anywhere near me without my permission, I'll burn you to a crisp!" She shakes him roughly.

"But-"

"Do you want me to make it so the only way to identify your corpse is by your teeth?" she growls out darkly. Her eyes spark dangerously as she holds a flaming hand near enough to his head that the heat causes his skin to redden.

Eyes wide, Drakken gapes in terror.

A tell-tale stench and a pooling of liquid at his feet is all the answer Shego needs.

She drops him with a disgusted snort. "Don't contact me. _At-all_."

She stalks away and disappears from his sight.

Once she's on the street, she smirks to herself. "I've still got it."

* * *

**A/N:** Okay! First off, this was obviously meant for the 4th of July. Sadly, things happened and it didn't get finished and posted.

Secondly! Yes, Shego was oddly compliant through the entire conversation with Kimmie. Why? She's been stewing about things for 9 months! And though it's taken that long for it to start sinking in, she has to admit she "kind'a likes" the redhead. Plus, turning the tables has her starting the conversation with the "lets be flirty teasey" thing in mind. And haven't you noticed? Her continued encounters with Kimmie/KAP have cooled her jets bit by bit. So! Last conversation was civilized, and this one is totally co-flirty stuff! As far as relationships go, I think 9 months is plenty of time to change the pace! What do you think?


End file.
